Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

It's strawberry season here on Long Island, yay!!!!  I'm so happy.  I visited my local farm stand and bought my first batch today :) :) :)

We ate some fresh and I used the rest to make a recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes from The Loveless Cafe Cookbook.  They came out so good, full of fresh strawberry flavor in the cake and the buttercream, yummy!

Cake

2 cups fresh and ripe strawberries, washed, stemmed and hulled

2 1/3 cups cake flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 egg whites

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

Buttercream

3 sticks unsalted butter at room temp

4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1/4 cup fresh strawberry puree reserved earlier

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place mini paper cupcake liners into mini muffin pans, makes about 72 mini muffins or 20 standard cupcakes.  Puree the strawberries in a food processor. Measure 3/4 cup for the batter and reserve 1/4 cup for the buttercream.  Caution - stick to these amounts for good consistency in batter and buttercream - I used a little more in the buttercream and it came a little too loose.

Sift the cake flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Add the sugar and baking powder and blend on low just until combined.  Add the butter and puree and mix on low until combined.  In a separate bowl whisk together the egg whites, sourcream and vanilla.  Add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low, scraping bowl as needed.  Mix on medium a few more seconds until well combined.  Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, scoop batter into mini cupcake liners. 

 Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Bake about 20 mins for standard cupcakes.  Remove from pan and allow them to cool.  

 

For buttercream:  Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Add the confectioners sugar about a cup at a time and beat until blended.  Add the puree and vanilla, scrape bowl as needed and beat until the buttercream is light and fluffy.

Place buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a start tip and decorate tops of cupcakes.  If desired garnish each cupcake with a piece of fresh strawberry.

Adapted from: "Desserts from the famous Lovelss Cafe" book available here:

http://astore.amazon.com/rosscoubak-20/detail/1579654347

 

And here is one more great strawberry cupcake recipe, decisions, decisions  - this one is very similar, but instead of pureeing the strawberry you use strawberry pieces - chopped small, a great Martha Stewart recipe found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/338183/strawberry-cupcakes-with-strawberry-butt

Enjoy!